Minors Voting Results
Minors (younger than age 18) have been joining us for Saturday rounds with ITG. Our membership is divided about this subject. The board and officers initially decided to ban minors, but one of our members has requested the subject be taken to a vote of the general membership. The board agrees. This is your chance to make your voice heard. A simple majority will decide this issue. Voting rules are below.
There are two distinct questions that need to be voted on. One has to do with
minors being allowed to join the ITG and compete in our tournaments, and the
other has to do with minors being allowed to ride along without playing.
Updated: 07/08/2009 03:21:04 PM
I have struggled with this. But my logic is these three issues why I'm voting no. 1) The Name Iron Thong 2) We Gamble 3) Language - This club was never meant for minors and therefore I think we should stay that way. I golf here to get away from all that, I really don't want to have to deal with it here too. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I cannot find any reason to exclude anybody from the group.
"Ironthong Golf Club" Was not intended for young kids from the begining. Hence the name of the club.
ITG is for adults only.
This really should be an adult league. Those who have played along side me know that my ball can become a whore in a megasecond.
If it ends up as a yes, I'll bring along all my newphews and have them ride with the individuals that voted yes... j/k.... The weekend is the only time for me to use foul language when I hit a bad shot, and with my handicap it's just about every shot, and don't want to worry about who is around me...MO
Although I personally don't have a preference, if Iron Thong was originally intended to be a "guys group", then it's probably most fair to everyone to go back to our roots. With that in mind, I vote no to minors.
Question #2 Most of the men in the group have or had children in some point their life and for some, not all it's a time to get away and play golf, drink, BS and just be men. What I've heard is that they hold back because out of repect and not offend anyone regardless of gender. Question #1 Very Controversial
There was a time when I thought that I was a great golfer. If no one has ever notice...Alexis has a perfect golf swing...exactly parallel at the top. One day when she's on the Tour..you'll be able to say that I was part of the group that didn't want her to play with us. Golf teaches us all kind of things...different things for everyone of us...language/gambling probably isn't on the top of the list.
I feel we should "grandfather" Alexis because of her committment to the game, and Eugene's daughter because she works great as a caddy (and young people hanging around a bunch of good role models may help them with their future)! For these two, I vote yes. For future candidates, I say no.
Thank you to the board for allowing this to be put out to the membership for a vote. Regardless of the outcome, thank you all for making my daughter feel welcome.
I'm not in favor of excluding anyone. Our motto "Share good space with friends while playing golf" is what its about.
There have been times when all my 9-yr-old wants to do is hang with his Daddy. I'm not worried about the adults swearing, drinking or bad behavior. Hell, you can be an example of what not to do.
Note: We are essentially voting on whether to change Section 1. of our by-laws, which reads: Membership shall be available to all (men/women) 18 years of age or older..... For whatever reason, an exception got made with Alexis and it's something I've personally always been fine with. Since I am voting "yes," and should this pass, my thinking is that it is incumbent upon ITG members to use their discretion as to whether any minor they bring is mature enough to handle being around our group. No member should feel they need to alter their behavior or language because of the presence of a minor who was brought in by another member. If the member who brought the minor is offended by the language or behavior of another member they are to blame for exposing the minor to anything the minor is not mature enough to handle. If this issue is voted on the majority as being "no," my hope is that we at least come to a consensus that Alexis be grandfathered in inasmuch as the group, by it silence on the issue, allowed an exception to be made to the by-law.
If they can handle it, so can we.
We currently use low net score to determine most pairings. What are we going to do…change that policy too? What is a parent going to do when the child is placed with a dirty old man like JJ No Name? We haven’t run background checks through the FBI on everyone in the ITG. So God only knows what kind of people we have as members. When an accusation is made for inappropriate whatever to a minor, what are we going to do, hire a lawyer? Is ITG going to pay for it? What is the legal responsibility of the ITG in this case?
The original guys who started this club wanted this to be an all adult club...If I wanted to play with kids I would have joined the First Tee Program.
I said yes for as long they are kept under controled. No, rules or rules.
Personally, I have no problem with minors playing golf with us if we give that minor specific permission to play, like we did for Alexis. However, our bylaws tell us that no one younger than age 18 can become a member, and I believe that is the bottom line. As far as minors as riders are concerned, I see no reason to deny an ITG member the opportunity to share this great game with his son or daughter, as long as he realizes that he is personally reponsible for that minors actions and the course allows minors to ride along. Our group is growing and changing. If certain members don't want to be around minors (especially minor females), then all they have to do is request not to play with them when they sign up. I think that is an equitable answer to this question, and I thank everyone who voted. This is one of the ways we keep our group evolving.
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